S&WB investigates after picture shows what appears to be an employee asleep in utility truck

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board said it’s investigating after a picture posted on social media apparently shows a worker asleep in a utility truck.

According to the Reddit post, that picture was captured less than 24 hours after we learned that two S&WB employees were asleep on their overnight shift as the city’s pumps lost power and pressure, leading to a boil water advisory for the entire east bank.

The picture posted Friday appears to show a S&WB asleep at 7 a.m. on St. Peter Street. The post says “No running water on St. Peter at 7am don’t worry, SWB is on it!”

We reached out to the utility about the picture, but they would not do an on-camera interview with us. Instead, the agency sent us statement:

“Our team is aware of the situation and we are investigating. We certainly encourage employees to perform assigned duties and our goal is to foster among our employees a strong sense of duty and pride in their work. We appreciate the patience of our customers as we work to get to the bottom of this matter.”

We also spoke to Mayor Latoya Cantrell about the picture. She said she had seen it.

“First of all policies and procedures, making sure that they’re followed so, the executive director, right, of the Sewerage and Water Board has been informed and is taking the necessary steps to investigate and to ensure what you saw was actually there,” Cantrell said.